A Secret Service agent who was sent to Israel prior to President Joe Biden’s visit there has been sent home after what several reports frame as an argument that turned physical involving a woman.
The Secret Service confirmed the broad outlines of the incident in a statement, according to CNN.
“Late Monday, the United States Secret Service was informed that an agency employee working in Israel was allegedly involved in a physical encounter,” the statement said.
“The employee was briefly detained and questioned by Israeli police, who released him without charges. The employee has returned to the United States,” the statement said.
For the second time in three months, Secret Service personnel have been sent home from a presidential foreign trip following run-ins with local police https://t.co/oI3nhryTiW
— Kevin Liptak (@Kevinliptakcnn) July 13, 2022
“In accordance with agency protocol, his access to Secret Service systems and facilities was suspended pending further investigation,” the statement said.
CBS, saying it had further information from four sources it did not name, reported that the agent was an off-duty male who was in a bar in Jerusalem when the incident took place.
Has the Secret Service lost its luster with these incidents?
The Times of Israel, citing Hebrew media reports, said the incident began when a woman told the agent, who was drinking with a colleague, that he was drunk and was not behaving properly, indicating the incident took place outside of a bar.
CBS also reported that alcohol was involved in the incident.
The agent then either pushed or hit the woman, who then summoned the Israeli police, according to the reports.
The woman was not injured.
CBS reported that the agent involved is a member of the Counter Assault Team, which it called “a heavy weapons tactical unit of Secret Service that assists the Presidential Protective Division.”
The report said members of that unit are sent ahead of a presidential visit. Biden arrived in Israel Wednesday.
Secret Service Agent allegedly sent back to the US after being held by Israel local police for assault.
Not a good look for this administration https://t.co/NV35TSQ2uf
— Sue Knows Best (@sues86453) July 13, 2022
Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the Secret Service could neither confirm nor deny the details CBS was told “given our investigation is just beginning.”
“We hold all employees to the highest professional standards and you are seeing the results of our strong culture of accountability,” Guglielmi said.
In May, two Secret Service employees were sent back to the U.S. from South Korea after an incident in Seoul.
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